Jewish life and society in antiquity underwent countless changes. As a result, numerous facets of Jewish life as well as many aspects of Jewish identity were drastically altered. The authors in this volume encompass political, social, cultural and religious issues in both literary and archaeological sources.
Jewish Identities in Antiquity: Studies in Memory of Menahem Stern pays homage to one of the greatest scholars of ancient Jewish history in the twentieth century. Its theme stems from the recognition that Jewish life and society in the thousand-year period from Alexander's conquest in the fourth century BCE to the Arab conquest in the seventh century CE underwent countless changes, both sudden and gradual. As a result, numerous facets of Jewish life in antiquity were drastically altered as well as many aspects of Jewish identity. The articles in this volume encompass political, social, cultural and religious issues in both literary and archaeological sources.
Table of contents:
Daniel R. Schwartz: Menahem Stern (1924-1989): His Place in Historical Scholarship -
Lee I. Levine: Jewish Identities in Antiquity: An Introductory Essay -
Doron Mendels: Memory and Memories: The Attitude of 1-2 Maccabees toward Hellenization and Hellenism -
Oren Tal: Hellenism in Transition from Empire to Kingdom: Changes in the Material Culture of Hellenistic Palestine -
David Goodblatt: »The Israelites who reside in Judah« (Judith 4:1): On the Conflicted Identities of the Hasmonean State -
Uriel Rappaport: The Connection between Hasmonean Judaea and the Diaspora -
Erich S. Gruen: Kinship Relations and Jewish Identity -
Sylvie Honigman: Jewish Communities of Hellenistic Egypt: Different Responses to Different Environments -
Joseph Geiger: The Jew and the Other: Doubtful and Multiple Identities in the Roman Empire -
Albert I. Baumgarten: How Experiments End -
Isaiah M. Gafni: Symposium: In the Wake of the Destruction: Was Rabbinic Judaism Normative? -
Hillel I. Newman: The Normativity of Rabbinic Judaism: Obstacles on the Path to a New Consensus -
Ze'ev Safrai and Chana Safrai: To What Extent Did the Rabbis Determine Public Norms? The Internal Evidence -
David Levine: Between Leadership and Marginality: Models for Evaluating the Role of the Rabbis in the Early Centuries CE -
Moshe David Herr: The Identity of the Jewish People before and after the Destruction of the Second Temple: Continuity or Change? -
Steven D. Fraade: The Temple as a Marker of Jewish Identity Before and After 70 CE: The Role of the Holy Vessels in Rabbinic Memory and Imagination -
Lee I. Levine: Forum: Was There a Crisis in Jewish Settlement in the Eastern Galilee of Late Antiquity? -
Uzi Leibner: Settlement Patterns in the Eastern Galilee: Implications Regarding the Transformation of Rabbinic Culture in Late Antiquity -
Jodi Magness: Did Galilee Experience a Settlement Crisis in the Mid-Fourth Century? -
Uzi Leibner: The Settlement Crisis in the Eastern Galilee during the Late Roman and Early Byzantine Periods: Response to Jodi Magness -
Tessa Rajak: The Greek Bible Translations among Jews in the Second Century CE -
Isaiah M. Gafni: How Babylonia Became »Zion«: Shifting Identities in Late Antiquity -
Adiel Schremer: The Christianization of the Roman Empire and Rabbinic Literature -
Zeev Weiss: Between Rome and Byzantium: Pagan Motifs in Synagogue Art and Their Place in the Judaeo-Christian Controversy -
Oded Irshai: Jewish Violence in the Fourth Century CE - Fantasy and Reality: Behind the Scenes under the Emperors Gallus and Julian
